US expects talks with China on trade

The US has voiced willingness to negotiate a resolution to an escalating trade fight with China after Beijing retaliated against proposed US tariffs on $US50 billion ($A65 billion) in Chinese goods by targeting key American imports.

But the Chinese ambassador to Washington says it "takes two to tango."

Just 11 hours after President Donald Trump's administration proposed 25 per cent tariffs on some 1300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products, China shot back with a list of similar duties on major American imports including soybeans, planes, cars, beef and chemicals.

Beijing's swift and forceful response raised the prospect of a quickly spiralling dispute between the world's two economic superpowers that could harm the global economy.

Asked whether the US tariffs announced on Tuesday may never go into effect and may be a negotiating tactic, Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, told reporters: "Yes, it's possible. It's part of the process." He called the announcements by the two countries mere opening proposals.

Kudlow later told Fox News Channel: "I don't think it's a trade war. I think there is going to be intense negotiations on both sides."

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"I think we're going to come to agreements," he said, adding that "I believe that the Chinese will back down and will play ball."

Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the United States, held an hour-long meeting at the US State Department in Washington with acting Secretary of State John Sullivan.

"Negotiation would still be our preference, but it takes two to tango. We will see what the US will do," the ambassador said afterward.

The trade actions will not be carried out immediately, so there may be room for manoeuvre. Publication of Washington's list on Tuesday started a period of public comment and consultation expected to last around two months. The effective date of China's moves depends on when the US action takes effect.

Trump rejected the notion that the tit-for-tat moves amounted to a trade war.

"We are not in a trade war with China that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the US," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

If the two countries are unable to settle the dispute, a full-scale trade war could destabilise US-Chinese commercial ties, an important component of the global economy.

China's action rattled US farmers, while shares in US exporters of everything from planes to tractors were volatile.

The US move was aimed at forcing Beijing to address what Washington says is deeply entrenched theft of US intellectual property and forced technology transfer from US companies to Chinese competitors, charges Chinese officials deny.